Strong Songs of the Dead | Th. Metzger | Ltd. Signed Ed. of 99
Hardback (ltd. ed.), 5x8, 230 pages, isbn: 978-1-943687-34-3
Strong Songs of the Dead delves into the uniquely and deeply American tradition of Sacred Harp singing, exploring its evolution from its origins before the birth of the United States to its renaissance in the twenty-first century. Th. Metzger immerses himself in this vibrant social phenomenon, embracing the raw and raucous sound, which draws singers from beyond the Southern country churches where it survived in obscurity for decades. With a keen eye for detail and a willingness to honor both the elation and the wild dark current that runs through the tradition, Metzger paints a vivid portrait of Sacred Harp singing as a deeply democratic and passionate form of musical expression. Through short, unrestrained chapters, the memoir intertwines themes of grief, loss, and longing with a fervent celebration of life, capturing the essence of a tradition that resonates with the heartbeat of America.
"Metzger's work and voice resound in strange harmonies, leaving you wanting more… But what we do have here is lovely: a highly intelligent book about the power of the human voice."
—Carl Abrahamsson, author of Occulture: The Unseen Forces That Drive Culture Forward
“Th. Metzger explores the multivalent contradictions of Sacred Harp singing in a highly personal, engaging series of vignettes, at times assuming the role of informal anthropologist and others the stranger in a strange land. This book will engage both insider and casual reader unfamiliar with this deep-rooted American tradition.”
—Nick Pappas, Independent Scholar
"Metzger writes vividly and imaginatively while making his own eclectic sense of an experience at first intensely foreign to him.”
—E. Fulton, hymnologist
“This intimate portrait of the Sacred Harp subculture, which Thom Metzger and wife Eileen have embraced with deep, ecstatic fervor, offers the author's most spiritual yet grounded book to date: the literary equivalent of a Joe Coleman painting, but suffused with a Hildegard von Bingen soundtrack.”
—Derek Owens, author of The Villagers, and Memory's Wake
